Slam poem; The System—
[This poem was written in 2015, and is meant to be read aloud]
How to make sure the system is working: Make sure the system fails — systematically.
If the system "worked", then it would cease to exist. There would be no homeless youth or mentally ill on the street; no starving children in the richest country on earth. Transgender kids wouldn't commit suicide, and trans women of color wouldn't be routinely murdered.
The goal of the system should be to abolish the system; the goal of capitalism to extinguish itself.
The system exists to sustain itself, and capitalism feeds off inequality.
How to make sure the system fails — youth: Don't provide free or reduced school lunches. Cut WIC and SNAP benefits. Institute zero tolerance policies and unfairly target people of color to ensure the school to prison pipeline stays intact. Make sure to prosecute youth like mini adults — do not provide therapy of other means of redress and diversion. Make sure all children feel demoralized about their future.
How to make sure the system fails — people of color: Maintain the war on drugs, complete with inequitable charges for crack vs. powder cocaine. Be sure that any treatment programs are not evidenced based — if they relapse, they will come back to prison. Make sure that politicians and media talk about police murders and repeat the line, "all lives matter" because o say otherwise is racist. If you must acknowledge that an unarmed black man was shot by police, mention any criminal activity of the victim, and present them with the most disheveled picture possible — a mug shot is perfect.
How to make sure the system fails — women: Don't talk about the wage gap, or claim that it's a feminist myth. If you must acknowledge it, only talk about white women vs. white men. Applaud calls fro work-life balance when it comes from Paul Ryan, but don't acknowledge his votes against family leave. Blame women for leaving their children, and then blame them for earning less and having few leadership positions after taking time off. Don't pay women when they take time off after childbirth, but chastise them for being back at work the day after giving birth.
How to make sure the system fails — LGBT: Celebrate gay marriage being federal law, but ignore the fact that you can still be fired and evicted for being gay. Celebrate Caitlyn Jenner by giving her "woman of the year"; award, but don't talk about successful trans women of color; ignore their murdered sisters. accept binary trans people, but get argumentative when someone wants to go by "they".Make cisgender doctors the gatekeepers of trans healthcare. Tell bisexuals they are just confused, and refer to same-sex sexual activity exclusively as "gay" or "lesbian" sex, even if those engaging identify otherwise. Don't acknowledge that bisexual have higher mental health disorders and more sexual assaults. Ask bisexual men when they're admitting to being gay.
How to make sure the system fails — men: Raise men in an environment of toxic masculinity, where they aren't able to have feelings and must be sexually aggressive to be a "real man". Do not teach them consent, teach them entitlement. Teach them that being a "faggot" is bad, because this mean effeminate, and being feminine is inferior to being masculine. Tell them that girls like it when you are persistent, that no means "not yet".
How to make sure the system fails — everyone: make sure the system is working.